It's official. After knocking off the Oakland Athletics this afternoon, the Cleveland Indians are back in the playoffs.McBone would like to congratulate the Tribe, the 2007 American League Central Division champions! The award is the club's 7th since 1995 and the first since 2001.
A long road lay behind manager Eric Wedge's squad, which suffered through a final-week meltdown to miss the postseason in 2005, followed by a lackluster 2006 campaign (the result of the catastrophic trade of Coco Crisp to Boston prior to the season) that had many fans screaming for Wedge's dismissal. This year it was a combination of great starting pitching, a lights-out bullpen and timely (to be generous) hitting that assured northern Ohio at least a few games of October baseball.
Credit general manager Mark Shapiro for putting the team together, and Wedge for maintaining great chemistry all season long. Even during a dismal August the Tribe were able to stay afloat before mounting a rally that left rival Detroit eating dust.
Let's hope that the Indians tear through the other AL qualifiers and capture the team's sixth pennant. Go Tribe!
nwb
PS. Coming soon: 2007 playoff preview.
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